In a pair of tweets published on Jan. 2, President Donald Trump noted that despite the United States giving “hundreds of millions of dollars” in aid to the Palestinians, they show little appreciation or respect for that aid and have been unwilling to enter into peace talks with Israel.
The tweets suggested that the Trump administration could reduce foreign aid to the Palestinians, and according to a report Saturday from The Associated Press, that appears to be under discussion among top level members of his cabinet.
The move came following more than a month of exceptionally hostile rhetoric toward Trump and the U.S. from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The rhetoric began after Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a recognition Abbas said was unacceptable to any sort of peace agreement.
According to those reports, plans to dramatically reduce U.S. contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency — which largely focuses on providing aid and services to Palestinians throughout the Middle East — were on the verge of being finalized.
The plan would entail the delivery of only $60 million to the U.N. agency instead of the scheduled first installment of $125 million. The U.S. contributed $355 million in 2016 and was expected to match that again this year, but not any longer. However, the full amount could be restored if the Palestinians meet certain unspecified goals, such as a resumption of peace talks.
The cut of $65 million from the contribution was actually a compromise supported by Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who found common ground between not changing the budget and eliminating the aid altogether, a position staked out by Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley.
According to Reuters, Trump made good on his promise to reduce aid to the U.N. and Palestinians on Tuesday, as the cut in aid was officially announced.